Summer in the Mountains

After a wet and miserable spring with snow falling in the high mountains till mid June we thought it would be a slow start to the summer season, fortunately we have been blessed with glorious sunshine and warm temperatures for a few weeks now. Inter-dispersed with a few noisy and spectacular thunderstorms and the odd frontal system we are enjoying perfect climbing conditions.

So far we have had guests successfully traverse the Domes du Miage, ascend the Gran Paradiso in Italy, do a number of training days on the glaciers around the Chamonix Valley learning those essential mountaineering techniques. Our programme gets busier towards the end of July with Mont Blanc ascents, Eiger climbs, an assault on the 4000m peaks around Zermatt and our first Matterhorn climbs of the summer.

On Sunday our first trekking tour began, the Classic Haute Route Trek from Chamonix to Zermatt. I joined our team of 6 on their walk to the Albert 1er Hut above Le Tour, with Andy Perkins as their intrepid guide. With a slightly inauspicious start sitting out a passage of violent thunderstorm activity in the minibus we relocated to the café for a coffee and as the weather improved everyone made the final adjustments to their rucksacks before we headed up the lift to the Tete de Balme. Our walk to the hut began with a gentle stroll through the flower meadows, traversing the slopes towards the Le Tour glacier. Rounding the corner on the Bec du Picheau you get the most amazing view of the Le tour Glacier and its huge waterfalls and seracs, a magnificent site even in the hazy sunshine between the rain showers.

Crossing onto the moraine wall of the glacier we ascended straight up to the hut at 2700m crossing some snow patches and bracing ourselves against the increasing wind and rain, the hut was a welcome site and shelter from the weather. As the guests settled into their rooms and headed to the dining area for lunch, I had the inauspicious task of walking back down to the bottom again to collect the minibus and dry out before the beckoned on Monday morning!

Since them the Haute Routers have made it to the Vignettes hut, ascended the Pigne de Arolla and headed to a cosy pension in Arolla for a much deserved night in a comfy bed and a hot shower, they are due into Zermatt over the weekend, a report and pictures to follow on their return.

We still have some spaces on our Mont Blanc Climber from the 9^th – 16^th August our Haute Route Treks from the 2^nd – 11^th August and the 30^th August – 8^th September. Or join us for a wonderful trek around the Bernese Oberland from the 9^th – 16^th August or a quick weekend of alpine mountaineering on our Best of Chamonix Weekend 18^th – 21^st September.

Zinal 2008 - Five go free riding!

The 27th of March Me, Dad and Tara left Chamonix for a simple two hour drive up the Rhone valley and then the Valle d’Anniviers for a weekend of off piste skiing in the Swiss Alps. My sister, Tara (14) is an awesome telemarker, using her first ever fat skis “BumTribe’s” she just cruises everywhere she goes. Me, I’m Archie (16) and for this trip I’m on the Salomon X-Wing furys, I love speed and these planks look like they should fly. Dad, well he’s a bit old school but he can put on a good show and well I have to admit his skis are the fattest of all of ours!

We arrived at our friends Eric and Penny Kendall’s home, well right now there’s not much more than the four walls standing as they are renovating it to a deluxe 8-10 bed chalet, its going to be fantastic. For more info take a look at www.skizinal.blogspot.com Their chalet is situated in a small hamlet called Mottec at 1560 m. Just above Mottec is the ski village called Zinal situated at 1670 m which is well known for its glorious off piste and free ride area. Penny is a great cook and within no time we’re tucking into bangers and mash, not exactly a well known Swiss recipe but it sure hit the spot with us.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, at breakfast (porridge and fruit) you could cut the anticipation with the bread knife. In the Val d’Anniviers you have the choice of five resorts, Chandolin, St Luc, Vercorin, Grimentz and Zinal. We chose to start at the end of the alphabet for our first powder day. At 8.45 the 5 minute ‘free’ bus ride deposited us next to the Zinal telecabine were we could see the lift slowly ascending through a white cloak of wispy but quickly disappearing cloud. At the top there was so much snow, it was unbelievable. Minutes later we are looking into the ‘free ride zone’, its untracked, wow, now we knew we were in paradise.
Penny is a professional photographer and Eric is a Journalist and together they make a really good team, this is their first winter in the valley, really lucky for us to have some local gen. Dad had only been to Zinal once before but seems to have a powder sensitive nose, he just sniffs it out wherever he goes, must be some trick they teach you at Mountain Guide school. From the word go it appeared that this trip was going to be a good opportunity to enjoy ourselves, take photo’s and find some wonderful skiing.

Much to the relief of Tara there was no need for skinning because the lifts took us everywhere we wanted to go and with the bonus of not having to queue. We spent the morning putting in fresh tracks and Penny took some really good photos. There were some fun cliff jumps, but one was quite rocky and I nailed my ski’s. After skiing the free ride area we began to be aware that the snow was gradually getting baked so we decided to descend to Grimentz via an awesome route by the Moiry Dam, a massive wall of icy concrete. The descent was brilliant because there was no one else there and therefore we had acres of untracked powder to play with. The highlight of skiing next to the dam was that a lot of snow had been plastered onto the concrete face and this gave us, especially Dad the opportunity to ski up the wall, it looked pretty cool! Arriving in Grimentz we had a picnic which filled us up with the energy we had lost in the long ski. Then we hopped onto a bus which carried us five minutes up the road to Mottec and the chalet. That night we enjoyed another splendid meal whilst viewing the pictures that Penny had taken of us that day.We were looking forward to another memorable day of skiing.

On Saturday we woke around the same time, feeling slightly more tired. The five ski areas all work on the same pass, however they are not joined by any lifts, only by a free ski bus. There is a piste between Zinal and Grimentz called the Chamois. However, it was the only piste not open, this did not deter us, in fact it meant that we had the whole of this incredible terrain to ourselves. 1300m of untracked powder. The start of the run began with a great, steep descent into a lovely couloir, we took it in turns to go down with Dad below taking pictures, he’s a wanna be photographer…! the couloir was great and it increased everyones confidence. Once we had finished the couloir Dad and I pelted it down the slope towards the flatter area. “We were in sync flying down the mountain, and then out of nowhere loomed a wind scoop, shaped perfectly for the best suicidal jump. Dad hit it first and with the elegance of a flying HIPPO he flipped through the air in slow motion, CRASH, he was rolling through the snow like an Abominal Snow man out of control.” The Chamois was great with its steep couloirs, its beautiful smooth rolling off piste and of course its perfect jumps, its a shame Dad could not land them. We reached Grimentz after traversing the mountain side along a small bumpy and icy track through beautiful forest.

Quick stop at the Coop for our picnic ingredients and on up the Grimentz lift system to the Panorama view point at 2850m. Incredible views of many 4000m peaks of the Peninne Alps including the Matterhorn. For a descent we choose the north facing slopes off the back of the mountain, another completely wild off-piste run, just us, powder, well a little crust and a few chamois. Lunch is munched in the sun by an ancient summer cowshed. The snow became more and more ‘interesting’ as we descended further but miraculously it lasted (just) until we reached the village of St Jean. Must have been a tough assignment as Dad fell asleep (power nap apparently) on the bus ride back to Mottec.!

To find out how you can feature in your own off piste adventure click on www.mountaintracks.co.uk/winter/

Spring is in the air!

Over the last few weeks Mountain Tracks have been out and about enjoying the sunny weather across the Alps. It felt like spring had arrived for the last couple of weeks with endless day of sunny weather, not a cloud in the sky and rising temperatures. The snow was faring ok in the higher areas and the guides have been working hard to find good snow off piste to keep everyone happy.

Last week saw a return to winter weather and a really cold blast of air from the North East and a small fall of snow across most of the northern Alps. Some welcome powder snow was enjoyed by all, in Chamonix in the early part of last week. Nick moved his Gressoney Off Piste Advanced course to Chamonix so they could enjoy the better conditions around the Mont Blanc region. They had a great final few days skiing on the Vallee Blanche, Grands Montets and doing some ski touring.

On Thursday our Ski Touring Skills course guests arrive at the Hotel Regina in St. Gervais, ready to learn and brush up on all you need to know to become an avid ski tourer. Friday saw them, under the guidance of mountain guide Christian Tromsdorff, ski the Vallee Blanche via the Grands Envers route practising some crampon and ice axe techniques. Saturday was an early start to the Grands Montets for a big ski tour up towards the Col Tour Noir. Rising above the cloud layer we were greeted to beautiful sunshine and we set off towards the Argentiere Glacier. It was skins on and the start of a 3 hr tour up the Glacier des Amethystes towards the col. The group had plenty of time to master the kick turn on the way up, as well as taking in the stunning views of the surrounding peaks.

The ski down was excellent with soft creamy snow and fresh tracks most of the way down. The hard slog of the climb had been worth it for the descent! On the lower slopes we all stopped to discuss and practise some crevasse rescue techniques, Christian showed the group a number of useful knots and methods of travelling safely in glaciated terrain. We did a few simulations of someone falling down a crevasse and how you would get them out, which everyone found useful and informative. We then skied back to the bottom of the Grands Montets after a long day for a well deserved beer in the bar.

As Britain prepares to be hit by yet another winter storm, we too are looking forward to a week of abundant snow fall according to the French weather man. Hopeful this will bring an over due dump of snow to us and our guests who have arrived in different resorts this weekend will be able to enjoy perfect conditions. We have the last of out Off Piste Performance courses in Ste. Foy, Nick will be guiding a group in Chamonix and we have an
advanced course in Andermatt in Switzerland.

Next week sees the start of the ski touring season with the first of our Haute Route tours getting underway. Annie Donovan and Bryan Hogg are leading our Portes du Soleil Tour and Julie-Ann Clyma will be off round the Western Oberland High Level Route with a group.
We still have spaces on some of our later season ski tours such as the Berner Oberland Tour in April, Silveretta Alps and late season Haute Route in May. If it’s downhill only you want then come and join us in Zermatt for a week of intermediate off piste skiing, get those last turns of the season in before it really does become spring!!!

Mountain Tracks on the Eigerwand!

There really has been some excellent ski conditions this year. And coupled with good weather, this has meant that MTX groups have been skiing great snow amongst the highest Alpine Peaks.However mid season I have taken a little time off from guiding to complete a long term ambition: To climb the Eiger North Face in winter.

I enlisted the help of fellow guide and all round ‘mountain sportsman’ John Bracey.
We summited with one bivouac on the ‘brittle ledges’. The face was cold and icy, but generally in good condition. It was a very satisfying climb, especially visiting all the famous places on the face… Difficult Crack, Second Ice Field, Flat Iron, Ramp, Spider etc.

Recently, Joe Simpson (Touching the Void) has released a film about the North Face called ‘The Beckoning Silence’. If you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend it.

I hope you enjoy these photographs of this magnificent peak. Those doing the Oberland tour with me in April will pass right beneath the face.

Matt Dickinson

Advanced Off-piste Adventure, Chamonix

Yesterday our Off Piste Advanced group here in Chamonix enjoyed 2 fantastic runs on the Vallee Blanche. After snow on Wednesday it dawned cold and clear on Thursday morning and Olly had planned a trip to the Aiguille du Midi for the day.

After a cold and windy descent of the arête we set off down the Enver du Plan route on the glacier, the snow was perfect and we enjoyed the first two steeper pitches in deep and light powder. With Olly’s skill and knowledge we wove our way around the crevasses and seracs in search of untracked powder and our efforts were rewarded with pitch after pitch of perfect powder snow (see the pictures above).

Arriving at Montenvers perfectly timed to catch the train back down to Chamonix, we stopped for a quick lunch before heading back to the Midi lift station for a second time. Exiting the cable car at 2.45 we set off down the ridge for a second time in the biting wind. This time we were the only ones on it, making the walk down much quicker and easier. Setting off across the glacier towards the Rognan we enjoyed the splendid views up to Mont Blanc the Grand Capucin, Dent du Geant and the Grand Jorasses in the afternoon light. The snow down next to the Rognan was great, soft creamy powder and everyone enjoyed their ski, all be it on tiered legs.

This time we had to make the hike up to the buvette as we were too late for the last lift up to the train station. After a short slide of the glacier and a 15min walk to the track down to Chamonix, everyone enjoyed a quick drink and some chocolate. We then set off down the infamous track to Chamonix in the fading afternoon light, as the sun dipped behind the mountains we negotiated the now ‘interesting’ bermed corners and rocky patches on the path. Arriving at the bottom of the Planards slope just as the last rays of pick glow on the Aiguilles of Chamonix faded into the night sky. Tom from Chalet Lounge was ready to take everyone back to the chalet for a cup of tea and hot bath before dinner and well deserved beer!

Today everyone is off for a ski tour over the back of the Flegere ski area and down into the Berrard Valley to finish at Le Buet. They should have a great day with the sun shining again and the fantastic snow conditions.

If you fancy some of this, we still have places left on our Advanced off-piste course in Chamonix starting on 29th March. For more information click on Advanced Adventure Chamonix 29 March-5 April

Curry Powder Weeks, Gulmarg India

I’m writing this from the splendour (albeit slightly faded) of the Royal Palace houseboat on Dal Lake near Srinagar. True not at its best in winter, it’s a sea of colour in summer when the lilies are in bloom. Outside heavy snow is falling and news has just arrived that all flights in and out of the city have been cancelled. Time then for me to relax, with no distractions, and reflect on the past three weeks in India. A ski trip yes, but not quite as I know them.

India, I love it and I hate it. Nowhere do you see so many extremes, the beauty and colour of this country is immeasurable, the friendliness, helpfulness and kindness of the people knows no bounds and yet the poverty, filth and red tape constantly saddens, annoys and frustrates. Fortunately I mostly love it and when you mix the exotic with one of the best lift-accessed ski hills on the white planet then you have all the ingredients for an unforgettable holiday.



Getting to Gulmarg is straightforward enough. Delhi is the hub for international flights, some 10 hours from London, from there connections to Srinigar leave in the morning. We flew with Kingfisher Airlines who I must say in common with the beer of the same name were refreshingly first rate. The first thing that strikes you on arrival in Kashmir is the huge military presence. Figures vary but it appears India has ¾ million armed personnel here. I can’t work out if I’m relieved or just saddened (both I guess). Young soldiers shivering from the cold, many from Southern India have probably never seen snow, line the 40kms of bustling road from the airport to Tanmarg, the village at the base of the ski hill ‘Aphewat’. That first taxi journey is when you begin to absorb a little of the real essence of Kashmir, the chaotic bustle of life in the villages, the incessant beeping of car horns, cows wondering across the road, men standing around everywhere, veiled women scurrying between dilapidated shops, children playing cricket on waste ground. Tanmarg is a taxi terminal; from here you need chains to continue the 15km of switchbacks to Gulmarg. Most Indian tourists blatantly ignore this advice and obliviously launch their Maruti Suzuki’s up into the snow, only to come unstuck and block the road. Fortunately this is accepted as part of the fun and good natured pushing of everyone’s cars is an inevitable feature of the drive up the hill, road rage seemingly hasn’t arrived here yet!



Most striking on the ride up the hill are the trees, huge and beautiful Himalayan Pines caked in snow everywhere and most pleasing to the skier’s eye is that they are perfectly spaced, lots of gaps to focus on! The tree skiing is without doubt one of the loveliest features of the skiing in Kashmir. For Europeans used to skiing above the tree line or occasionally in trees all too often too tight to relax in, the tree skiing is something very special. Most stunning are the stands of silver birch which we called paper trees these are found incredibly at an elevation of 3500m. For me some of my most memorable moments were weaving through the paper trees in knee deep powder.



Gulmarg was founded by the British in the days of the Raj as a hill station. In the summer scores of ex-pats would travel up to escape the heat and relax amongst the cool mountains. It became well known for its golf course around which its 20 or so hotels are positioned. There is no village centre as such, indeed there are no permanent residents of Gulmarg, only tourists or those working in the tourist business. Everyone else is supposed to be out of town by 6pm. For tourists après skis focuses on the hotels, in our case this was the historic Highlands Park Hotel. Although the furthest located from the Gondola the HPH is without doubt the hotel with the most character in Gulmarg. Stuffed with furniture from its Raj roots and uniformed staff from the 60’s, this warm and atmospheric lodge style hotel has everything, despite the inevitable power cut, you need to be comfortable after a days skiing. Sleeping accommodation is in 2-4 bedroom lodges, each room is heated by a wood burning stove known as a bukari (top tip bring some eucalyptus oil to help you sleep!) and an en-suite bathroom, where most of the time hot water flowed. The new owner has plans for wind power and hot tubs but assures me the character of the HPH will remain.

Skiing or ‘sikiing’ as the locals pronounce it first came to Gulmarg in the late 1970’s, a couple of ‘pomas’ turned the golf course into nursery slopes and introduced winter sports to the Indians. A few hardy Europeans turned up and got to know the runs down to Tanmarg well with the odd venture onto Aphewat by skin, but then in 1989 the troubles in Kashmir escalated and the tourists turned away. Meanwhile the Jammu and Kashmir government decided to put in a gondola lift on the mountain and in 2005 they completed the construction of the second phase to 3995m just short of the summit of Aphewat making it one of the highest lifts in the world. Giving ski descents of 1350m to Gulmarg or 2300m if you go on down to Tanmarg it wasn’t too long before the tourists were coming back!

So what exactly is the skiing like? Well in 20 consecutive days skiing I can only tell you what it was like for me bearing in mind that next year could be different - though talking to locals January 2008 was pretty typical. 20 days skiing, 20 days of untracked powder all day, best continuous skiing… period! When I say powder I mean powder the light fluffy stuff your skis love to float in, that is if you have wide skis. Please do yourself favours if you come here don’t bring skis less than 100mm wide under the foot, it’s the norm here. Depths varied from boot deep to close to waist and we had a seven day in the middle without new snowfall. Ok, mountains at 4000m are affected by wind and yes some of the turns at the top were wind affected but in the trees the snow was always sweet. When it snows in Kashmir it really does snow, storms typically last for 3-5 days and you can expect the top stage of the gondola to be closed during this time. Don’t worry that’s not an end to your skiing there are fabulous descents to be done down below Gulmarg. Plus it gives the higher mountain a chance to stabilise.

As a guide from a snow safety point of view I was very happy not only about the state of the snowpack but also the control work being undertaken. By and large the snowpack was very stable throughout leaving concerns with the upper layer due to wind or fresh snowfall, both of which were relatively easy to avoid. To enable skiers to use the top gondola an ‘in-bounds’ ski area has been created and this is controlled by a ski patrol team headed up by two snow safety experts from Treble Cone ski field in New Zealand. For the first time in 2008 they have been given permission to use explosives for their control work under the watchful eye of the Indian army. In addition they train the local ski patrol, post a daily advisory and hold weekly lectures for the local skiers on avalanche awareness. All in all Brian and James are providing a superb and valuable service.

Downsides?? Well everywhere has its faults and India certainly has its share. I’ll expand on a few problem areas in a moment but its important that no matter what is thrown at you, as the notice board in the gondola foyer says; Rule no.5 “This is Kashmir – Relax!” The lift is prone to power problems which affected me on two out of 20 days. But on both days they restored the power and we had great skiing. The ticketing system is laborious but works. Getting in and out of the cabins requires teamwork and care. These are minor things. Worthy of more attention is the queuing. In my first two weeks there were only 75-100 Europeans in the resort and no queues. In week three numbers doubled and coupled with the power problems we had lengthy waits. Overpopularity could become Gulmarg’s downfall. Undeniably as word gets out more tourists are going to come to Gulmarg and three factors will affect what happens: firstly whether the political situation improves, Western Governments advice not to visit Kashmir is currently keeping numbers down. Secondly, western tour operators need to operate responsibly keeping the size of their groups small and spreading them through the season. (One Russian tour operator brought 85 Russians in for the third week.) Thirdly if plans to put more lifts in actually come to fruition. A chair is ‘promised’ for next winter and will make a big difference.

The snow is still falling as I finish this, the lift might not be working but I bet the skiing is awesome. I’m sorry to be going but I’ll be coming back and in the meantime I must say I’m looking forward to a good bowl of pasta and glass of Pinot Grigio!

Nick Parks

To see the full selection of pictures from the 2007-20008 trips click on http://picasaweb.google.com/chrismtrx/CurryPowderSkiTripGulmarg2008

For details on our 2008-2009 trips click on http://www.mountaintracks.co.uk/winter/offpiste_adventure/curry_powder

Andermatt

This weekend I skied in Andermatt with “The Lads!” Despite the lack of recent snowfall we did some ducking and diving, finding some nice soft snow. Getting to the sweet spots will be especially memorable for some. Alan described the traverse into Kangaroo colouir as “F*** trouser filling”. Once there we could relax and ski freshies all the way. We all had a free facial srcub (curtesy of 100kmh winds) and Shaun is still dreaming of Birdos skis (hand made in Andermatt by naked Sweeds!).

If you want to see all the photos visit http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ollyguide/andermattOffpiste

Olly